Death Is A Blessing In Its Right Time and Place
I am working Hospitalist right now. On Friday, a man in his 80s was admitted with difficulty breathing. He had a complicated history, including a heart attack at age 35 with all the subsequent sequela of heart disease. He had an abnormal heart rhythm and was taking a blood thinner for stroke prevention. In addition, he had scarring of his lungs (cause unknown). He was transferred to us from another hospital. He had shown up at the other hospital with a nosebleed (side effect of the blood thinner). In an attempt to stop the nosebleed, he was given blood and plasma transfusions. Nasal packing was placed. He subsequently ended up having a hard time breathing, and a breathing tube was placed. He managed to eventually come off the ventilator and was transferred to us. I went into his room to introduce myself. His skin was wrinkled and his hair was white. His nasal packing was still in place. His face was covered with an oxygen mask. I could immediately see that he had twinkly and jovial